​Roger Cross, Chapter President,, presented a Certificate and a check for $150 to Jena Naswadi, Principal of the Lower School of Walsingham Academy on May 27, 2020.  The certificate and check was for Alayna DeLaGarza, the 1st Place winner in this year’s Sgt. Moses Adams Memorial Middle School Brochure Contest.  Her winning entry will be submitted to the VASSAR competition.
 
The contest was open to all students in grades 6 through 9 in James City County/ Williamsburg.  Entrants could choose from five Foundational Documents of the United States – Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Federalist Papers – as the theme for their brochure.  This contest was organized and conducted by Compatriot Paul Huchko, chairman of Chapter Youth Programs.
 
Submitted by:  Harley Stewart

On 22 May 2020, the National Cemetery in Winchester held a commemoration ceremony for Memorial Day.  Participants included the Colonel James Wood II Chapter, Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution; The American Red Cross, VFW Chapter 2123, The Northern Shenandoah Valley Community Veterans Engagement Board; and Heroes on the River.  The ceremony was held to honor Americans who died in the military service of their country.  There were brief remarks, a moment of silence, the playing of taps and presentation of wreaths.  

​Pictured with the wreaths are Ashley Moslak, Marc Robinson, Adam Packham and Ralph Hensley. In the 2nd picture are participating members of the Sons of the American Revolution.  Chip Daniel, Clay Robinson, Dale Corey, Nathan Poe, Brett osborn, Eric Robinson, Sean Carrigan, Marc Robinson & Paul Christensen. 

Submitted by Dale Corey
   

On 17 May 2020, the Colonel James Wood II Chapter had a musket workshop for members and potential members of the organization.  The attendees were taught  safety, commands, proper positioning, firing sequence & etiquette when participating as a member of a Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard and Musket Squad.  Instructors were Marc Robinson, Commander, Colonel James Wood II Chapter Color Guard and Brett Osborn, Virginia State 2019 Color Guardsman of the Year.  The program began with a lesson in safety.  Next appropriate commands and firing sequence were discussed.  Then individuals were given the opportunity to go through the commands and firing sequence to fire.  The next step was to divide into 2 sections for individual instruction.  After an hour of working through the processes required, the individuals were brought together as a squad and performed a musket firing of three rounds as if in a formal ceremony.  This workshop allowed two of the individuals to gain certification to participate in official ceremonies.  Attending the workshop were Marc Robinson, Brett Osborn, Dale Corey, Eric Robinson, Sean Carrigan, Clay Robinson, Chip Daniel and Erick Moore.

   Submitted by Dale Corey
​

​On 13 May 2020, James Wood High School held a graduation ceremony for the class of 2020  Due to current restrictions, the ceremony was held virtually through a video presentation of the normal ceremony, without an audience.  This included the Colonel James Wood II Chapter presenting the colors and a traditional firing of a cannon to honor the graduates.
​
 Submitted by Dale Corey 

     This afternoon the Virginia SAR Executive Committee met with 22 of our Chapter Presidents to provide an update on State-wide issues, answer questions, and encourage sharing of ideas.  State Registrar Bill Haskins also joined the meeting.  Similar meetings are scheduled every two months to increase the flow of information to and from chapters.  The meeting was conducted via Zoom.

     Items discussed included:

1. An update on Congress - Still Scheduled for Richmond in July
2. Virtual Events & Meetings - Examples, such as the Fairfax Resolves Patriots' Day Ceremony and encouragement to take advantage of technology.  Anticipate full credit, as if you physically attended, during the pandemic restrictions.
   
3. Calendar Changes - Cancellations, Reschedules, and Virtual events.
4. Update on Presidential Initiatives including encouragement to donate to the Brennan, Jr. Fund for Youth Awards (goal is $15,000, current status is $3875 including matching dollars)
   
5. Caution for many email scams being received by Chapter Presidents and State Officers.
6. Inability to purchase medals from NSSAR - state medals and some national medals and certificates available through Secretary Rouse.
   
7. Extra time at home is an opportunity to participate in data entry for the NSSAR Patriot Records System.

     The next meeting of this group will be mid to late June at which we hope all chapters will be represented.  These meetings are not a response to the pandemic restrictions, but an effort to increase communication to the benefit of our chapters.

On this day in history, April 12, 1776, North Carolina is the first state to call for independence from Great Britain. Her Provincial Congress, meeting at Halifax, North Carolina, passed a resolution that has come to be known as the Halifax Resolves. In the document, the Congress instructs its representatives to the Continental Congress to vote for independence if the other colonies agree to do so. The resolution does not instruct them to introduce a resolution for independence to the Congress, but to vote in the affirmative if the other colonies agree to it.
 
North Carolina was a hotbed of rebellion against royal authority from the beginning of tensions with England. North Carolina was the site of the "War of the Regulation," a conflict that lasted from 1760 to 1771. This "war" was an effort of poor western farmers to remove corrupt officials in the more prosperous east who were oppressing them with high taxes. The movement was finally defeated at the Battle of Alamance in 1771.
 
After the Boston Tea Party, the women of Edenton, North Carolina joined in a compact to boycott tea, the first political resistance organized by women in the colonies. The first North Carolina Provincial Congress met in 1774 and elected members to attend the Continental Congress. The second Provincial Congress met the next year, causing Royal Governor Josiah Martin to dissolve the official assembly.
 
North Carolina was the site of an early invasion attempt by the British in 1776, but the attempt failed when a large group of Loyalists were defeated at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge. The Halifax Resolves were adopted less than a month later on April 12. In July, after Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed a formal vote for independence to the Continental Congress, North Carolina's representatives, Joseph Hewes, William Hooper and Lyman Hall, voted for independence in accordance with their instructions in the Resolves. In the same month, Governor Martin fled with the attempted British invasion fleet, bringing royal rule to an end in North Carolina.
 
North Carolina remained free from fighting with the British for the next several years as the fighting was concentrated in the north. During this time, however, she was involved in numerous battles with Indian tribes allied with the British to the west. In the latter half of the war, the fighting moved south and North Carolina saw some of the fiercest fighting of the war. After the crucial Battle of Guilford Courthouse, British General Charles Cornwallis wrote, "I never saw such fighting... the Americans fought like demons."
 
Though the battle was won by the British, Cornwallis' troops were worn out and ill-supplied after a year of chasing the Continental Army through the state. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse finally broke his strength and Cornwallis was forced to flee to the coast for reinforcements, where he was trapped at Yorktown, Virginia and forced to surrender, bringing about the end of the American Revolution.
 
http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com  
 
Jack Manning
President General
National Society Sons of the American Revolution